Month: October 2020

‘On This Day in History’ = an excuse to post a Nicklas Lidstrom milestone

I don’t mind posting these kinds of entries at all:

On this date in 2009, #RedWings Nick Lidstrom became the first European-born defenseman to reach 1,000 points— Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) October 15, 2020

On this day in 2009, with two assists in @DetroitRedWings‘ game against the Kings, @NicklasLidstrom became the first European-born defenceman to score 1,000 career NHL points #Hockey365 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/QEwHJ7U9Lz— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) October 15, 2020

‘The Word on Woodward’ to include Kris Draper interview

Per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

You know what day it is! The #WordOnWoodward is live at 12 on @DetroitRedWings and @tigers Facebook, YouTube, and websites!! We’ll be joined by Kris Draper, @KenKalDRW, @beckjason, @tkulfan, and more! #LGRW #DetroitRoots— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 15, 2020

Grab that cup of ☕️! The #WordOnWoodward is all new today at noon with special guest: Kris Draper! (This was recorded at 10:00 AM ET.) ?https://t.co/JcI8QxrNRY pic.twitter.com/dkasrYrDLX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 15, 2020

Sportsnet’s Fox praises and pans Wings in offseason power rankings

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posted a list of offseason power rankings this morning, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings:

14. Detroit Red Wings

Love it: Holding six picks in the first three rounds of the 2021 draft. Recruiting an influx of NHL-calibre players — Troy Stecher, Thomas Griess, Sam Gagner, Bobby Ryan, Vladislav Namestnikov, Marc Staal — without committing term. Weaponizing cap space for the Staal deal. Still holding $18.7 million below the ceiling.

Hate it: Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha still unsigned. Buyout of Justin Abdelkader will be on the books until 2026. We’re still waiting on a thunderbolt move from Steve Yzerman — Mikhail Sergachev offer sheet? Patience is the prudent course, but it’s not fun for headlines.

Continued

Bultman discusses Kris Draper’s influence upon the Wings’ draft tendencies

The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote a superb article this morning, discussing Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper’s first time running Detroit’s NHL draft as it pertains to the team’s direction going forward. Bultman notes that Draper takes the “get the Red Wings back to the playoffs, and then even more” parts of his job very, very seriously:

“Everybody knows how much the Detroit Red Wings mean to me,” he said. “I’ve spent half my life here, and I want to do everything that’s possible to get us back to where we want it to be, where the fans want it to be. And we know we have work to do. And we also realize that a big part of us getting back to where we want to go is going to be drafting and developing.”

The charge of getting the Red Wings back into contention falls onto more shoulders than just Draper’s. It takes an entire franchise. But as Steve Yzerman has preached building through the draft, the department Draper now helms has a massive hand in shaping the future of the franchise.

Draper’s correct that it will take years to find clarity about this draft class. But for now, this first draft can hopefully tell us a few things about how the department will run under the four-time Cup winner.

Bultman continues (paywall)

Two Swedish things: Joe Veleno, Moritz Seider to make SHL debuts today

Today is a very busy day in the SHL for Red Wings prospects, with Jonatan Berggren (Skelleftea), Albert Johansson (Farjestad BK), Matias Brome (Orebro), Lucas Raymond (Frolunda), Albin Grewe (Djurgarden) and Malte Setkov (Malmo) all playing hockey today.

According to Sydsvenskan’s Kent Leijon Jonsson, Joe Veleno will join the fray playing for Malmo, centering a line of Eric Engstrand and Jan-Mikael Jarvinen;

And Hockeynews.se points us to Rogle BK’s website, which reports that Moritz Seider will make his SHL debut alongside Eric Gelinas. In a subscriber-only story (i.e. one that I can’t access), Seider told HD.se’s Linus Ahlin that he wants to be one of the world’s best defensemen.

Fox Sports Detroit posts Jamie Daniels Foundation’s ‘Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman’ online

Fox Sports Detroit has posted the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” on YouTube for all to watch, and its silent auction is still underway…

Among the roast’s highlights, from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Continue reading Fox Sports Detroit posts Jamie Daniels Foundation’s ‘Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman’ online

Prospect round-up: Viro cracks 20-minute mark in TPS loss; Niederbach posts 1+1 in Frolunda win

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Victor Brattstrom served as the back-up in KooKoo’s 3-2 loss to the Lahti Pelicans;

Jared McIsaac remained sidelined with a hand injury as HPK won 4-3 in a shootout over TPS Turku. Eemil Viro had an assist and 4 shots in 21:25 played for TPS Turku;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom took 4 shots and finished even in 20:51 played as Almtuna IS lost 3-1 to Vita Hasten. Filip Larsson served as the back-up goaltender for Almtuna;

Gustav Berglund played 13:45 in Vasteras IK’s 9-1 loss to Bjorklowen;

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, William Wallinder played 20:00 in MODO Hockey’s 2-1 loss to Kristianstads IK;

And in the Swedish J20 league, Theodor Niederbach scored a goal and had an assist as the Frolunda Indians won 5-4 over the Malmo Redhawks. Niederbach now has 21 points (6 goals and 15 assists) over the course of only 12 games played for Frolunda’s J20 team.

Here’s Niederbach’s goal from Antonj85 on Twitter:

Khan profiles Troy Stetcher

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles new Red Wings defenseman Troy Stetcher. Stetcher isn’t big at 5’10,” but he brings a lot of grit and determination to the table:

“I pride myself in my work ethic, I try to lead by example in practice and throughout games,” Stecher said. “I know I’m not the biggest guy, but I definitely try to create a spark for my teammates through the (course) of a 60-minute game and I rely on my work ethic and skating.”

He also listed the areas he is looking to improve.

“Just boxing out in front is one of the bigger ones,” Stecher said. “Being a smaller guy, you need to find different leverage points. And then continuing to support the rush and having a good gap. I think it works both ways, offensively and defensively.”

The Canucks missed the playoffs four years in a row before making a nice run in the Edmonton bubble. They defeated Minnesota in the qualifying round and defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in the first round before losing in seven games to Vegas in the second round. He is hoping to be part of a similar progression in Detroit.

“There’s been some challenging times,” Stecher said. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and you just got to stay focused on what your process is and your goals are. I think the biggest thing is understanding it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a process of getting there.”

Continued